The University of Southern California on Wednesday announced a new school president to usher "a new era" following a series of high-profile scandals that culminated last week with a massive college admissions bribery case.

Carol Folt, former chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will become USC's 12th president and the first permanent female president in school history - an announcement that came a week after news of the bribery scandal broke.

Folt will take over USC from interim President Wanda Austin, who stepped in after former President C.L. Max Nikias resigned last summer amid two major controversies: reports that the school ignored complaints of widespread sexual misconduct by a longtime campus gynecologist and an investigation into a medical school dean accused of smoking methamphetamine with a woman who overdosed.

Rick Caruso, chairman of the USC board of trustees, said a lengthy search for a new president led a 23-member committee to unanimously recommend Folt.

With files from the Associated Press

Guest:

Carol Folt, president elect of University of Southern California